Hercules III User Manual Rev A.2
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4.2
Functional Overview
This section describes the major Hercules III subsystems.
4.2.1
CPU Core
Hercules
III’s core embedded computer circuit features the ultra low power Intel Atom “Queensbay” extended
temperature platform, consisting of an
Atom processor (“Tunnel Creek”) with I/O Hub (“Topcliff”). The rest of the
circuit consists of 1GB or 2GB of on-board SDRAM memory, display controller with LVDS and onboard VGA/ DVI
converter, plus SATA, USB, serial port and LAN interfaces. Off-board system buses include PCI Express and ISA.
4.2.2
Video
The video circuit consists of Intel’s integrated GMA500 controller with dual independent display support. A 24-bit,
single-channel LVDS hardware interface is provided as an interface to LCD displays. The LVDS transmitter
operates at 112MHz, with resolutions up to 1366x768 pixels.
CRT resolution of up to 1280x1024 pixels is supported by conversion from the Tunnel Creek through a single
SDVO interface to analog VGA with a Chrontel chip.
Simultaneous CRT and LCD support is provided.
In addition, the chipset integrated video controller provides hardware acceleration for H.264, MPEG2, VC1 and
WMV9 video decoding standards.
4.2.3
Ethernet
Hercules III provides dual Gigabit Ethernet ports, one supported from the Top C
liff’s internal MAC and the other
from the Intel 82574IT Gigabit MAC/PHY. Both ports provide a vertical RJ-45 connector with integrated agnetic.
The Wake-On-
LAN feature requires integration with the board’s power supply and Hercules III BIOS.
4.2.4
USB
Hercules III offers 5 user accessible USB 2.0 ports. All ports have minimum 500mA per port drive capability with
short circuit / over current and ESD protection on each port. All of the ports are brought out to I/O connectors for
user access.
4.2.5
mSATA Solid State Storage
A mSATA connector provides mounting for a solid state bootable USB flashdisk module with capacity up to 64GB.
Both MLC and SLC mSATA devices are supported and available.
4.2.6
Audio
Hercules III provides HD audio support from the Tunnel Creek CPU via a Realtek ALC262 high definition CODEC.
Audio I/O includes stereo line in, stereo line out, amplified out and mono mic in. The board includes audio power
amplifier circuitry for stereo speaker output. The amplifier circuit is powered by +5VDC from the board. User DC
control of volume is provided which overrides the software settings.
4.2.7
Serial Ports
Hercules III provides six serial ports with varying protocols and signal availability. The SCH3116 provides all of
the serial ports. Two of the serial ports (COM3 & COM4) support RS-232/422/485 protocols. The other four ports
(COM1, COM2, COM5, & COM6) support RS-232 only.
The BIOS supports serial console redirection on COM1. This feature enables keyboard input and character video
output to be routed to COM1.
4.2.8
GPS Module
Hercules III supports a plug-in Condor C2626 GPS module. The Condor C2626 provides an L1 Frequency
(1575.42MHz) GPS receiver with NMEA protocol from a serial port. UART1 from Top Cliff is interfaced with the
GPS module.